The speaker for the Friday July 8 GAAC meeting will be astronomer Phil Orbanes, with the “Deep Sky Name Game,” a fun examination of all those deep-sky object names that can’t help but leave us baffled. The Running Man nebula, the Flame nebula, the Eagle nebula — look closely; do you see a running man, or an eagle in there someplace? Maybe a flaming eagle? What were astronomers thinking? How on Earth did they come up with those names?

Nebulae of every stripe are some of the most spectacular and colorful objects in the universe, but there is very often no obvious resemblance between names and appearances. Phil may or may not be able to explain some of these choices to us, but we’ll have fun watching him try. Come along on a tour of some puzzling examples of stunning nebulae that will leave you scratching your heads in wonder.

The Gloucester Area Astronomy Club meets at the Lanesville Community Center, 8 Vulcan Street, at 8:00 pm on the second Friday of the month. There is plenty of free parking, and there is no cost. All are welcome. For more info on the club and its activities please see our website, at http://gaac.us, and our Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/GAACpage Follow us on twitter, @GAACster.

Keep your fingers crossed for good weather for the very next evening, July 9th, our second Halibut Point State Park Star Party of the 2016 season. This one will be full of planets and moons from dusk to 10:00-ish, next to the Visitor Center. There is no cost. Please park in the paved lot and walk up to the Visitor Center.